The Cuba oil embargo took center stage at a regional summit in the Caribbean as the United States announced a limited easing of restrictions on Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba\u2019s private sector. The move comes amid a deepening fuel and electricity crisis on the island.
\nWashington stressed that any relaxation of measures would depend on Havana\u2019s adherence to strict conditions as regional leaders warned that the humanitarian crisis in Cuba risks destabilizing neighboring states.
\nThe decision follows growing concerns over severe shortages, rising migration, and broader economic collapse in a country already weakened by decades of embargo policies and structural challenges.<\/p>\n
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba must undergo significant political and economic reforms, attributing the current crisis to the island\u2019s communist government.
\nRubio, a Cuban-American politician and longstanding critic of Havana, argued that mismanagement and the lack of a competitive private sector have left Cuba especially vulnerable following Washington\u2019s halt of Venezuelan oil shipments in January after removing former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
\nRubio stated that the US would permit Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba only if directed to the private sector, warning that any diversion toward state or military institutions would trigger an immediate reinstatement of sanctions.
\nHe emphasized that Cuba has \u201clost 15 percent of its population since 2021\u201d due to migration driven by worsening living conditions.<\/p>\n
Rubio outlined scenarios that would lead to sanctions being reinstated:
\n\u2022 Oil diverted from private entities to state or military structures
\n\u2022 Evidence of attempts to bypass monitoring or licensing conditions
\n\u2022 Misuse of humanitarian concessions granted for commercial or social purposes
\nHe said the United States would respond swiftly if the \u201cspirit\u201d of the easing was violated.<\/p>\n
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders expressed concern that Cuba\u2019s deteriorating economic situation could trigger wider instability.
\nJamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said a prolonged crisis in Cuba \u201cwill not remain confined to Cuba,\u201d citing fears of increased migration and humanitarian spillover.
\nSaint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Terrance Drew, who studied medicine in Cuba, described alarming reports of food scarcity and uncollected waste, warning that \u201ca destabilized Cuba will destabilize all of us.\u201d
\nCanada, which maintains longstanding diplomatic ties with Havana, announced CAN$8 million in humanitarian aid to be distributed through the World Food Program and UNICEF.<\/p>\n
Rubio commented briefly on a recent Cuban announcement that four people were killed during an attempted infiltration from a Florida-registered speedboat. He said Washington was still studying the \u201cunusual\u201d event and noted that only limited information had been verified so far.<\/p>\n
The fuel shortages have reshaped daily life in Havana and across the island. Taxi drivers are abandoning their vehicles, small businesses are struggling to remain open, and consumers face rolling blackouts that complicate everything from cooking to refrigeration.
\nPrivate studies in Cuba suggest that more than 96 percent of small and medium businesses are suffering severe or catastrophic operational losses due to the lack of diesel and gasoline.
\nThe government has implemented emergency measures including a four-day work week for the public sector and strict fuel rationing. Diesel sales are banned, gasoline allotments are limited, and many Cubans now commute by bicycle or leave their jobs entirely.
\nAt Havana\u2019s Mariel port, shipping containers are piling up with no fuel available for distribution trucks. Vendors report that food supplies are thinned out by midday due to transportation bottlenecks.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Households face daily power cuts that interrupt cooking and cooling
\n\u2022 Solar energy use has increased among those who can afford it
\n\u2022 Many families resort to charcoal or wood fires to prepare meals
\n\u2022 Businesses close early due to lack of supplies and fuel for generators
\nResidents report that electricity shortages dictate their daily routines and that imported food is becoming even harder to obtain.<\/p>\n
Rubio also defended the US operation that removed Maduro from power in Venezuela, saying the country is \u201cbetter off today\u201d and moving toward \u201cfair, democratic elections.\u201d
\nHe also met with Haiti\u2019s Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime to discuss progress in deploying a UN-backed force to confront armed gangs. Rubio said he hoped Haiti would hold its first elections in ten years before the end of 2026.
\nRubio\u2019s visit marks the highest-level US official trip to Saint Kitts and Nevis.<\/p>\n
The partial easing of the Cuba oil embargo highlights Washington\u2019s attempt to balance humanitarian considerations with political pressure on Havana. However, with fuel shortages worsening and regional leaders warning of broader fallout, the crisis in Cuba remains a pressing challenge for the Caribbean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Cuba oil embargo took center stage at a regional summit in the Caribbean as the United States announced a limited easing of restrictions on Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba\u2019s private sector. The move comes amid a deepening fuel and electricity crisis on the island. Washington stressed that any relaxation of measures would depend on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","override":[{"template":"7","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"left-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"topbottom","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"jnews_post_split":{"post_split":[{"template":"1","tag":"h2","numbering":"asc","mode":"normal","first":"0","enable_toc":"0","toc_type":"normal"}]},"footnotes":""},"categories":[196],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}